03 Black Hawk

Chapter 03 Black Hawk Jack stared at a circle of tepees ahead. Busy people in buckskins moved about the circle. Horses and ponies grazed nearby. Jack took out their research book and found a picture of the tepees. He read: In the early 1800s, many different Native American tribes lived on the Great Plains. The Lakota were the largest tribe. They lived mostly in the areas we now call North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota.

Jack pulled out his notebook and wrote: early 1800s-Lakota were largest tribe of Great plains Behind Jack and Annie, a horse neighed. They turned. A horse and rider were heading toward the tepee camp.

The sun was very bright behind the rider. Jack could only see the outline of a body with a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back.

Jack quickly flipped through the book. He found a picture of a man on horseback carrying a bow and arrows. Below the picture it said LAKOTA WARRIOR. Jack read: Everything changed for the Native Americans of the Great Plains after white settlers arrived in the mid-1800s. Fighting broke out between Lakota warriors and white soldiers. By the end of the 1800s, the Lakota were defeated. They lost both their land and their old way of life. Jack looked back at the rider. The warrior was coming closer. “ Get down, ” he whispered. “ Why?” said Annie.

“ This might be a time when the Indians are fighting with the settlers, ” said Jack. The grass rustled as the warrior passed by them. His horse neighed again. Arf! Arf! “ Shh! ” whispered Jack. But it was too late. The warrior had heard Teddy’s barking. He galloped toward them, grabbing his bow. “ Wait! ” shouted Jack. He jumped up from the grass. “ We come in peace! ” The rider halted. Now Jack saw that he was only a boy on a pony. He couldn’t have been more than ten or eleven. “ Hey, you’re just a kid, ” Annie said, smiling. The boy didn’t smile back. But he did lower his bow while he stared at Annie.

“ What’s your name? ” she asked. “ Black Hawk, ” he said. “ Cool name, ” said Annie. “ We’re Jack and Annie. We’re just visiting. We live in Frog Creek, Pennsylvania. ” Black Hawk nodded. Then he turned his pony around and started toward the Lakota camp. “ Hey, can we come with you? ” called Annie. Black Hawk looked back. “ Yes, ” he said. “ Meet my people. ” “ You mean your parents? ” asked Annie. “ No, they died long ago, ” said Black Hawk. “ I live with my grandmother. ” “ Oh, I’d like to meet your grandmother, ” said Annie. “ I’m going to see my grandmother today, too. ”